Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Lenoria Eleise Anne Jones
Lenoria, date, approximate 1995; Age-progression at age 16 (date, approximate 2008)
Date Missing 07/20/1995
Missing From
Tacoma, Washington
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Black
Date of Birth 01/03/1992 (30)
Age 3 years old
Height and Weight 3'0, 40 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Blue or turquoise pants and a black t-shirt with an image of the character Barney imprinted on it.
Medical Conditions Lenoria was born with cocaine in her system and suffers from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a result. At the time of her disappearance, she was taking the prescription medication Norpramin to control the condition.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Lenoria's hair was braided at the time of her 1995 disappearance. Her nickname is Noria.
Details of Disappearance Lenoria was last seen with her great-aunt, Berlean Williams, on July 20, 1995 in their hometown of Tacoma, Washington. They lived in the 1900 block of south Sheridan Avenue in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma.
Williams had custody of Lenoria at the time and was in the process of adopting the child. She also ran a day care center. The identity of Lenoria's father is not known, and her mother had her rights to her daughter terminated by 1995.
Lenoria and her mother had never lived together; her mother gave her to relatives to raise when she born. She spent the first two years of her life living with relatives in the Spokane, Washington area before being placed in Williams's care. Lenoria's mother resided in Arkansas in 1995.
Williams initially told authorities that Lenoria disappeared inside the Target store on South 23rd Street in Tacoma during the day. Investigators believed Williams's account until Target management provided a security videotape showing Williams entering the store alone. There was no sign of Lenoria anywhere nearby.
Williams reported her grand-niece's disappearance to police at 9:42 a.m., but at 8:47 a.m. she had called her daughter and said she did not know the child's whereabouts. She had no explanation for why she waited an hour to alert authorities that Lenoria had vanished.
Williams changed her statements to authorities numerous times after the discovery of the videotape. Among Williams's claims were the stories that Lenoria wandered away from her home, was abducted from the Target parking lot and that two unidentified African-American men kidnapped Lenoria near their residence on south Sheridan Avenue.
Williams then said that the child was safe and living in an undisclosed location. Lenoria's mother says she called Williams and asked to speak to Lenoria two days prior to the child's disappearance, but was not permitted to talk to her.
Authorities placed Williams under house arrest for four months after Lenoria's disappearance for failure to provide information. Her day care center was also shut down by the state. Williams has never been charged in connection with Lenoria's . Her lawyer maintains that her accounts of Lenoria's whereabouts differed due to badgering by law enforcement.
Authorities have ruled out other members of Lenoria's family, most of whom live in Arkansas, as possible suspects in her disappearance. Some officials believe foul play may have been involved in her ; others believe she is still alive in an unknown location.
Some investigators theorize that she may have died from an accidental overdose of Norpramin, a tricyclic antidepressant prescribed to treat her ADHD. She had been taking the drug for only a matter of days prior to her disappearance. It is not usually prescribed for young children and has a number of serious side effects, including a skin rash, seizures and death, that can occur in the first few days after starting the medication. There is no evidence to support the overdose theory, however.
Lenoria's disappearance remains open and unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Tacoma Police Department
253-798-4721
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
KOMO TV
The News Tribune
The Seattle Times
The Olympian
Crime Stoppers of Tacoma/Pierce County
CyberPages International